Picot bar actuating mechanism



May 1950 I E. J. BERGER ETAL 2,507,487

PICOT BAR ACTUATING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 12, 1948 5 sheets-sheet 1 FIG; L

INVENTORS. Emi/J Barge/2's: Howard'lf. 14 832;

ATTORNEYS.-

y 1950 E. J. BERGER ET AL 2,507,487

PICOT BAR ACTUATING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 12, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. WITNESSES EmfiJBe/gaw 0Q g Hawaii/i W678,

A TTORNEYS.

y 1950 E. .1. BERGER ET AL 2,507,487

PICOT BAR ACTUATING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 12, 1948 5 SheetS- -Sheet s FZGEQ.

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WITNESSES I lzvgmvrgzzi I g 1 1. (3W 'lf a z uardi h esi,

BY Gaul W Z/MaiZ/ok A TTORNEYS.

May 16, 1950 E. J. BERGER ET AL PICOT BAR ACTUATING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 12, 1948 .&1.. $26 WW w T E N K N 7 EB R 0 VJ) 0 N I T 3 M A EH Z/MM WITNESSES 045.

May 16, 1950 E. J. BERGER ET AL PICOT BAR ACTUATING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 12 1948 Patented May 16, 1950 PICOT BAR ACTUATING MECHANISM Emil J. Berger and Howard K. West, Lansdale,

Pa., assignors to Dexdale Hosiery Mills, Lansdale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 12, 1948, Serial No. 7,808

This invention relates to mechanism for controlling the picot bars of flat knitting machines of the cotton type such as are generally used in the commercial production of flat stocking blanks with ornamental saw tooth or picot edges along the fold edges of the welt tops. These welt bars are ordinarily supported by arms on fulcrum shafts from the narrowing frames of the knitting machines so that when required, they can be swung downward manually from a normally retracted raised invert position out of the way, to active position relative to the knitting needles and vice versa.

The chief aim of our present invention is to provide a simple and reliable automatic control mechanism whereby the picot bars are brought from their normal retracted positions to active position for alignment of their points with the knitting needles in readiness for the formation of the picot courses, and whereby, after the completion of the picot courses, said bars are laterally displaced relative to the needles to an angular position from which they may be subsequently swung back manually to their normal inactive out of the way positions.

Other objects and attendant advantages will appear from the following detailed description of the attached drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of a flat knitting machine generally of the construction disclosed in U. S. Patent 1,986,577 granted to Kenneth Howie on January 1, 1935 conveniently embodying our improved picot bar control mechanism.

Fig. 2 is the organization in end elevation looking from the left of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view corresponding to Fig. 2 with certain parts differently positioned.

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary transverse sectional views taken as indicated respectively by the angled arrows IV-IV and V-V in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view corresponding to Fig. 1 with certain parts differently positioned.

Fig. '7 is a detail view on horizontal section taken as indicated by the angled arrows VII-VII in Fig. 6.

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are views generally like Fig. 3 in which the cooperative parts of the control mechanism are shown in still other positions; and Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view showing other component elements of the mechanism in their normal positions.

As in the Howie patent. supra, the picot bar indicated at I in these drawings is connected to a horizontal fulcrum shaft 2 by supporting arms 3', and said shaft is journalled in bearings 4 and 13 Claims. (01. 6696) 4a on the fashioning frame arms 5 which are joined adjacent their swinging ends by ashaft 6 and which are secured to a rock arm 1 at the back of the machine. At their outer ends the arms 5 are connected by drop links 9 with actuating arms ID on a rock shaft ll journalled at a lower level in the side frames I2 of the machine and arranged to be operated, through a roller arm 53, from a rotary cam H on the cam shaft [5 shown in Fig. 2. Normally, the picot bar I is yieldingly maintained in the inverted upright retracted idle position in which it is shown in Figs. 4 and 8, through engagement of a cam projection Ilia on a flexible tongue [6 (Fig. 4) with a notch Ila in a collar I! on shaft 2. The relatively weak helical spring at l8 tends to rotate the fulcrum shaft 2 counterclockwise in Fig. 2, and a slot and also to shift said shaft leftward in Fig. 1 for interlock of a shouldered clutch collar 20 thereon with a correspondingly shouldered mating boss 2| on the bearing 4 to maintain the picot bar I in its lowered or active position and the points la thereof in operative alignment with corresponding needles in the usual needle bar 22. The narrowing point combs at 25, 26 are mounted on slide bars 21, 28 and normally occupy the positions shown in Fig. 1, outwardly beyond opposite ends of the needle bar 22. The narrowing combs 25, 26 are arranged to be shifted back and forth horizontally by a screw spindle 29 which is threadedly engaged by follower nuts 30, 3i connected to the slide bars 21-28 and actuated through a pair of intermeshing gears at 32 and 33. As in the Howie patent, this racking mechanism includes control means whereby the shift of the narrowing combs 25, 26 is limited during formation of the picot courses, to a distance equal to the single spacing of the needles, the shoulders on the clutch collar 20 and the mating boss 2| of bearing timing of a width to allow this action without disengagement. This limited back and forth shift is imparted to the picot bar I by cooperation of a finger 35 extension on the follower nut 30 with an adjustable stud 35 in an arm 31 secured to the rock shaft 2 in a manner similar to that disclosed in the Howie patent. When the picot bar I is'swung upward to its normal retracted idle position as in Figs. 4 and 8, the arm 31 is moved out of the path of the finger extension 35 on the nut 39 so that the narrowing combs 25 and 26 may be moved inward to operative positions in relation to the needles and be progressively shifted as reting in the well known way. a

In adapting our invention to a knitting machine characterized as above briefly described, we extend the fulcrum shaft 2 somewhat beyond the bearing 4 and there apply to it "a normally lax torsion spring 40 which, in practice, is somewhat heavier and hence stronger than the spring l8, and which, when energized, tends to rotate the shaft 2 clockwise in Fig. 2. Oneend of the spring 40 is secured to a'collar 4i fixed on shaft 2 and the other to a roller arm 42 which is rotatively free onsaid shaft, and which is arranged to acted upon by an edge cam 43 secured totheflcore.

responding end of an auxiliary shaft'"45;" As" shown, the auxiliary shaftz'lliiextends.zparallelto the rock shaft 2 and is rotatively -supported at:

opposite ends in the bracket 4 ofthenarrowingframe, and in a bracket which conjointly with: another generally similar bracket 41, supports the guard 48 for the picot bar. is imparted to the shaft-45 as later on explained through a pair: of' intermeshing spur gears-.58 .and' S tv whereof the. larger: one" carries a. crank, pin 52 which; througha pitman 53-:(see Fig; 2) is connectedlito "an arm 55 pivotedat 5B on a fixed brackehE'f-rat the-'backxof th'ermachirie. The arm' activity Of'jthe pawl; 6211s governed. by a shield 68-iwhich is free on'the shaft. 60, and. which is adapted tmbe operated through a Bowden 'wire B'ScfrOmithe usual timingrchain (not illustrated) of'i'the' machine. The'cam.43 normally occupies:

the-rpositiondnwhich it is shown in Fig. 8 determinedbylengagementxof a finger-1H. on'the shaft 45irwithx'the shaft fifl To! the fulcrum shaft 2 somewhat inward? of the arm; 31 is secured 'a ra-- dial proj ectioni in the formof? a small arm 1 I (Fig. I):with arolleriarrangedto be .actedupon by a triplfingerltset screwed to the, shaft 45'. In order :to' damn the'fall of the1picot. bar: I" when au.-'. tomaticallyreleased-Ito thev action of gravity as. hereinafter :seti'forth, we have provided a, dash,

pot' whereof the. cylinder is. mounted 'on the. bracket 5 W as in. Fig; 1,: and whereof the piston 1.61

at its iouter end has; a pivotal connection. at Ilon -th'e 'fulcrum shaftZ. :As shown; the dash pot piston :16 has an vaxialsduct 8ll which-terminates. inia lateralibleedvport at8-l 7 Operation 7 Assuming that the picot bar. I is in: the normal raised. retracted position cf Fig. 4 with the parts.

of; the control mechanism 111': the normal positions inwh-ich they; are: shown in Figs. 8 and 11; and: that half, the length of aistocking welt has been" knitted in. the machine: to the. point where thev picoticourses :are to: be :formed, the shield. 68 (Fig. 2) is actuated under control of the. measuring chaintoreleasethe pawl 62 for picking of the ratchetwheel-t I. I At the firstpick of the-ratchet,

the-shoulder? 59w of cam159 (Fig-.11.) acts uponth'ezarm; 55 and. movesiit. counterclockwise, .with

V attendant lmpartationof-a partialclockwise ro;

Rotative movement *shown in'broken lines in Fig. 9.

4 tation to the gear wheel 5|. Due to the ratio of the gear wheels and 5|, this movement is multiplied in its transmission to the shaft 45 with the result that the cam 43 and the fingers 10 and I2 thereon are turned counter-clockwise to the position of Fig. 9. During this movement, the trip finger 12, in acting upon the small arm 1|, turns the shaft 2 clockwise slightly and, upon passing dead center as in Fig. 9, the picotbarl will fall forwardly of its own weight, the fall being damped by action of the dash pct 15. Also during this. movementthe arm 42 is swung upward .so that its roller engages cam 43 within the bight Mar-thereof and intercepts the picot bar I as On the next-pick of ratchet wheel 6! (Fig. 2) the,cam.-.59 is-rotatively shifted further in the same direction so that the rise 5% thereof is moved into engagement with the tooth projection a of lever 55, whereby, through the pitman 53, the Y gear wheel 5 l :is further turned clockwise ;to theupositionof :Fig. '10; During additionalcoun terclockwise rotary movement thustransmitted. topthe auxiliary shaft 45, the lobe 430 of. cam 43. actsupontherollerarm 42 with resultantcnergizaticn of the torsion spring 46 which;over,-t comesthe yweaker spring |6- and, thereupon acts? uponthepicot bar I to swing; it inward from. the broken line: intermediate angular.position .tor the final active full-line position in Fig; 10. 1 81843.. tiveto" the needles whereupon the; clutchrcollan 2-H on shaft 2v willautomatically interlock-smith; the boss 2i of bearing 4 as in Fig. 1* Atrthesame... time; the stud St .-on.- arm- 31 will be moved-into position in front-of the finger extension 35.-,of;-.th e;

'- adjacent needles, and then raised again,-'wherer.

upon the picot bar-is shifted leftward back tosits original position by a reverse rotary shift of the-- screw spindle-all this being effected in the. Same;- Way as described by Howie. 7

After the picot -:courses have been formed,-, the ratchet'fil is picked anothertooth-wherebyttheg high spot 59b of cam ESLWill pass beyond-the? 2.9 is operated to give the follower nuts 3fl fand=3l their first :two-needle inward. shift. in preparer-L tion for narrowing, the fulcrum shaft 2 is-movedi rightward 1 by; action of the finger 3,5 011 said; nut with the arm '31 on said shaft 'tozan -extentsufiis cient for themeleaseofithe clutch collar-:;2.0fromi locking engagement with: the-boss 2! 2of;the bearing 4. Upon this disengagement, theweaker:

spring is immediatelyexerts its:tors,ional'influ.-lence upon the, fulcrum shaft 2 to swingthfiipi flt a few more picks, the cam 59 is further turned clockwise until its edge 59c passes beyond the tooth 55a of arm 55 when the latter is pulled rightward from the position of Fig. 2 the gear 5| moved counterclockwise until it reassumes the position of Fig. 3 with the shaft e5 stopped by rte-engagement of the finger 1a with the hub of said gear. The picot bar I may thereupon be swung up by hand to its normal raised retracted rest position in Figs. 4 and 8.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a straight knitting machine having a series of needles, a narrowing frame, a picot bar with supporting arms secured to a horizontal fulcrum shaft rotativeiy borne by the narrowing frame, and means for releasably maintaining the picot bar in an inverted raised retracted upright position; pivot bar control mechanism including means auto the picot bar for .-.J,-,-' fall, spring means for momentarily intercepticg the picot bar in a downward angular inoperative position beyond the needles, and mean automatically operative in opposition to the spring means to ther swing the picot bar from i-i angular position to operative position in re on to the need'ies.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein the machine is provided with a second spring means tending to swing the bar toward its operative position, and further including means automatically operative after the picot bar has functioned to release it to the action of the first spring means whereby it is swung back to the angular position in readiness for manual restoration to its normal retracted position.

3. The invention defined in claim 1, further including means for damping the fall of picot bar.

4. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the machine has a. main cam shaft, and further including interposed connections whereby the several component means of the control mechanism are actuated from the main cam shaft.

5. In a straight knitting machine having a series of needles, a narrowing frame, a picot bar with supporting arms secured to a horizontal fulcrum shaft rotatively borne by the narrowing frame, and means for releasably maintaining the picot bar in an inverted raised retracted upright position; picot her control mechanism including a normally lax torsion spring associated .with the fulcrum shaft, means automatically operative when use of the picot bar is desired to first trip it so that it may fall of its own weight and to intercept it in an intermediate angular position, and means automatically operative thereafter to energize the torsion spring for action upon the fulcrum shaft to bring the picot bar into final operative relation to the needles.

6. The invention defined in claim 5, in which the machine is provided with spring means tending to swing the picot bar to its inactive position, and further including means automatically operative after the picot bar has functioned to relax the torsion spring and release the bar to the action of the spring means whereby it is swung back to the angular position in readiness for manual restoration to its normal retracted position.

'7. The invention according to claim 5, further including means for damping the fall of the plcot bar.

caliy operative to trip 8. The invention according to claim 5, in which the machine has a main cam shaft, and further including interposed connections whereby the several component means of the control mechanism are actuated from the main cam shaft.

9. In a straight knitting machine having a series of needles, a narrowing frame, a plcot bar with supporting arms secured to a horizontal fulcrum shaft rotatively borne by the narrowing frame, and means for releasably maintaining the picot bar normally in an inverted retracted upright position; picot bar control mechanism including an auxiliary shaft on the narrowing frame in parallel relation to the fulcrum shaft, a rotary cam afiixed to the auxiliary shaft, a finger on the auxiliary shaft normally in engagement with a radial projection on the fulcrum shaft, a roller arm free on the fulcrum shaft andnormally out of the range of the cam, a normally lax torsion spring with one end thereof connected to the fulcrum shaft and the other to the roller arm, and means automatically operative when use of the picot bar is required to impart a partial turn to the auxiliary shaft at the initiation of which the fulcrum shaft is turned slightly by action of the finger upon the radial projection and the picot ea-r thereby released to fall by its own weight until arrested in an intermediate angular position upon contact of the roller arm with the cam, and as the rotative movement of the auxiliary shaft continues to completion, the torsion spring is energized by action of the cam upon the roller arm, and the fulcrum shaft further turned to finally bring the picot bar into operative relation to the needles.

10. The invention according to claim 9, in

which the machine is provided with spring means tending to swing the picot bar toward its normal retracted position, and further including means automatically operative after the plcot bar has functioned, to release it to the action of the spring means whereby it is swung back to the angular position in readiness for manual restoration to its normal retracted position.

11. The invention according to claim 9, further including a dash pot for damping the fall of the picot bar, the cylinder of the dash pot being connected to the narrowing frame and the piston rod thereof pivotally connected to the strap of an eccentric on the fulcrum shaft.

12. The invention according to claim 9, in which the machine has a main cam shaft, and further including interposed connections whereby the several component means of the control mechanism are actuated from the main cam shaft.

13. The invention according to claim 9, further including means for damping the fall of the picot bar.

Ell/11L J. BERGER. HOWARD K. WEST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in tho file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,986,577 Howie Jan. 1, 1935 2,248,501 Howie July 8, 1941 

